<p>Ours is definitely sailing. Hence the barf reference. For those of you who don’t sail, a broad reach is THE most seasickness-inducing situation you can be in … Uuuup - and down. Uuuuup -and down. Ad nauseum.</p>
<p>I am so proud of myself. I actually talked to my D for almost an hour and didn’t ask any of the college questions I was thinking. I know she appreciated it. She volunteered a few comments, but I then let the subject change.</p>
<p>kinderny, I wish our deadline were that soon … I think this much time is not really helping my D. But that’s because she can’t take trips to visit. I’m glad people who can do have the time to make their visits. </p>
<p>I do think College Board is overpriced. ACT fees are hugely less, and CB should be embarrassed, particularly in what they charge to send scores (electronically!!).</p>
<p>SO some intersting emails in the last hr…
several more warning me of how the Episilon break in jeopardized our accts…including the local pharmacy!!!
What the hecknis that!! That company in Txeas should be REALLY embarassed!!!</p>
<p>and an email from FAFSA…
…evidently an “agency” sent updates…ie Uncle Sam perhaps and the tax returns…
our EFC changed. Happily in the right direction…
So I will call the U Fin office tom and ask when they would get the new EFC paperwork/update for their calculations. Its worth waiting if it will help the cause.</p>
<p>fogfog - I got an email Friday that our FAFSA had changed. I checked it and it had dropped a couple of hundred $$ and it said the change was made by a college. Today I got another email that a change was made - our EFC returned to the original number and the change was made by system. No idea what is going on.</p>
<p>Just a quick update on the Epsilon debacle. This article does a good job of explaining things. Please don’t be lulled into thinking this is “no big deal” because the hackers didn’t otain financial information. Be extra vigilant in how you respond to any emails you receive. </p>
<p>A partial list of the companies whose customers’ emails were hacked: Ameriprise Financial; Best Buy; Brookstone; Capital One; Citi; Disney Destinations; Home Shopping Network; JP Morgan Chase; Kroger; LL Bean Visa Card; Marriott Rewards; McKinsey & Company; New York & Company; Robert Half Technologies; The College Board; TiVo; US Bank and Walgreens… and Fogfog’s pharmacy!</p>
<p>My D is joining oregonianmom’s D at Willamette next year!</p>
<p>She’s liked the school a lot all along – had a good feeling about it when we visited, although it didn’t stand out from the others necessarily. Willamette was her first acceptance in December, and it’s been a frontrunner ever since. She had to go through the whole anticipation/acceptance/waitlist/rejection thing with all the other schools though. I’m so glad it’s all behind us.</p>
<p>D did know very well what she wanted all year and applied to LACs with similar environments. The final choice, among four Northwest LACs, really had to come down to her gut feeling, since they are so similar in most respects.</p>
<p>I thought for sure we would be the last ones off of the SS Indecision. I’m relieved, happy – and already dreading her going away. Yikes!</p>
<p>Re: Communal bathrooms. Consider getting your child (esp. daughters) a good quality bath-basket, one with drainage holes in the bottom, big enough to carry full-sized shampoo, condition and body wash of choice. Also buy a small tabletop mirror for the dorm room as most makeup, hair, or skin care will take place there. Your child won’t want to leave any supplies in the bathroom as they will get used up by others. However, if your guy or gal buys the wrong product by mistake or just doesn’t like it, they don’t have to use it up themselves! </p>
<p>I thought it was interesting that my D’s college (Western Carolina) had the personality test right off the bat. It seemed to be to help the student determine their strengths so that they can be making good choices for career, work-jobs, classes, etc., as well as to help the school figure out how the person fits in overall. Fortunately, my D’s results line up with similar tests she’s taken that point out the career she’s picked is pretty much ideal for her. She is definitely <em>not</em> an undecided major – though one never knows what the future will bring. </p>
<p>Here’s hoping SS Indecision will find calmer waters soon and that her tickets remain as inexpensive as possible.</p>
hmmm, I bought them into work with me today to fill out and return. Now I am getting nervous that somehow S will do something stupid and lose all the money he was awarded at his school of choice and he will need to go somewhere else. I don’t want anyone to think he usually does stupid things, but he is a teenage boy and I remember what I used to do as a teenage girl that kids nowadays get into big trouble for. I think I will hold onto them. ;-)</p>
<p>I started having S & D, who share a bathroom, alternate cleaning it a few months ago. Surprisingly, they do it without too much fuss and do a fairly good job, although every 5 or 6 weeks I go through it when cleaing the other bathrooms. So S knows how to clean a bathroom, but I doubt he will use those skills in cleaning a shared bath. He can also do laundry, knows how to change his sheets, etc. Whether he uses any of these skills at college is another thing. S’s last day of classes, except for AP classes is the 22nd. A little over 6 weeks til graduation. Yikes! We need to get invites out I guess.</p>
<p>S just found out that the camp he worked at last summer is “probably” only going to hire him for 4 weeks instead of 8. They started doing this last summer so that most kids that applied could get at least a few weeks summer work. We told S that 4 weeks “probably” would not be sufficient. He needs to email mail them back and ask for an 8 week commitment. I told him to not turn down the 4 week job til he has something else in place though. Summer jobs were scarce last year, and a bird in the hand… </p>
<p>His other option is landscaping and it will not be “fun” like working at camp. If he only works 4 weeks, he will probably head into school with very little spending money. His college is offering a work study job, but it is only $1500 for the year. I am guessing that $1500 would probably be OK if he has summer savings, but may not be enough otherwise.</p>
<p>My son has an interview today for a summer job at a local company updating the computers. He interviewed for it last year too but didn’t get it. Instead, he started his own free-lance tech service doing IT support for various people. Because of that he has a very nice letter of recommendation that I hope will carry some weight for today’s interview. This would be a great job because it’s in my son’s interest, and also because they hire for two seasons - this summer and next. He would also work with his best friend, which would be fun. </p>
<p>On-board the SS Indecision, he has pretty much narrowed his choices to two colleges. I have a favorite but have my mouth duct-taped so he can make his own choice. I am looking forward to more talk regarding dorm stuff, move in dates, etc. </p>
<p>I asked my older son, who just graduated from College last year, for choosing advice and he said that he thought that the feel of the college and generally the fit was just as, if not more important, then the academics. In other words he was also saying to go with the heart.</p>
<p>I’m so envious of everyone who is all done! Congratulations!! I have a feeling we will be the last ones on the boat.</p>
<p>D called one of the colleges on her list yesterday and was not happy with what they told her about fin.aid. Definitely a learning experience for her.</p>
<p>About the communal bathrooms - I have been laughing reading some of the responses. D has to clean the bathrooms at home but refuses to clean certain parts because it’s ‘yucky’. I told her that she can’t use that excuse in college. Good points though about having to wait to use it when you are running late for class etc. I will definitely share that with her. And how she wouldn’t have to clean it. FYI - I have a nephew at Dartmouth and they didn’t have to clean or restock the shared bathroom, the school did it for them. D just assumed that all schools do that!</p>
<p>Here’s hoping everyone has a great day and that there are more happy decisions made!</p>
<p>bkcsmn99-you won’t be alone on the boat…I am afraid we will be there also. My d seems paralyzed with fear about making the final choice. The choice is daunting to her. She has never had to make such a huge decision before and is full of fear. So eventually she may need to be gently pushed off the boat…</p>
<p>I hear ya, maybe we shouldn’t celebrate yet?
Our kiddo got some merit aid from one school, and The U will give us a new package this week. Our 2010 income was down 30% from 2009 and the EFC dropped 10%. Was interesting because the U’s “estimated Fafsa EFC” for the pre-read (dont know how they figure that out) was 20% higher…so the inital Feb on made us happier…
We had to submit so much through IDOC, and the U fin-aid peeps said “we do 100% checking”, I was thinking “Whoo hoo, have at it because the inital package didn’t call for “strike up the band”!” :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Things will be very tight. Our student knows that there wont be tons of spending money available and a work-study is in kiddos future. Busy kid with studies, varsity sport commitment and work-study…</p>
<p>Holliesue - I know how you feel. D has a hard time making decisions. I think she is afraid she will make the wrong one. I am trying not to say too much since I know where I would like her to be…</p>
<p>We had an interesting twist last night - D has been happy since she made her decision but had a poignant meltdown about leaving home. She was finishing up some local scholarship applications when I asked her if she was excited. Her reply, “I am scared. I wll probably never live here again (tears).” I said - “This is your home and you are always welcome to live here.” Her reply - “I know, but it will never be the same.”</p>
<p>This is coming from my fiercely independent, overly responsible child and this the first time during this process that I cried. I am still a bit teary eyed. </p>
<p>Now that she is filling out all the leagal paperwork, loans, etc., she is also realizing how much college actually costs even though she has been part of all the conversations. Maybe she (we?) has been just caught up in the process and reality is finally setting in.</p>
<p>I am thinking that we are not quite off the rollercoaster.</p>